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Urban Ecopuncture

URBAN ECOPUNCTURE

REIMAGINING ‘LIVE-WORK-PLAY’ FOR KALLANG IN 2050 1

Urban Ecopuncture

ABSTRACT

An “urban ecopuncture” — working as a point-line-surface system — is the concept of sustainable urban transformation strategies developed in specific nodes or ‘meridian points’, which stimulate a larger network or ‘lines’, to reactivate the entire urban system or ‘surface’: small-scale urban interventions to transform the larger urban context through ecological, social, and economic strategies in order to reactivate ecosystems.

In 2050, Kallang is envisioned to be a significant urban core in Singapore, which faces imminent global issues, like climate change, and local issues, like an ageing population.

Study area

Intervention area

Site

lifestyle for everyone, especially the elderly. This objective is achieved through the concept of ‘urban ecopuncture’, which signifies varying interventions according to the scale of the site.

According to United Nations projections, 47% of Singapore’s total population will be aged 65 and older by 2050 (Liew, 2019). Coupled with the inevitable impacts of climate change, like freak natural disasters and distress migration, this demographic shift causes a strain on Singapore’s resources. In this context, there is a need for hybrid living.

The study area is a site with fragmented ‘enclaves’ with monotonous uses. In this scale, a minimalist intervention of activating an ‘eco-network’ is proposed. The intervention area is a residential site that lacks vitality. In this scale, the proposal is the redesign of the open spaces in the existing HDBs and guidelines to introduce varied programme to the site.

How do we envision a ‘hybrid’ city? ‘Hybrid living in 2050’ implies not simply a mixed programme, but also sustainable living for all ages and a synergy with the environment.

The site, currently a private industrial site, is designed to be a public, multifunctional, biophilic site equipped for intergenerational living. The urban transformation proceeds through different neighbourhoods that provide a new identity to the site: a ‘hybrid’ site.

The focus of our project is designing a ‘Live-Work-Play’ environment that enables a viable and comfortable

Urban Ecopuncture

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank our studio facilitators: Prof. Asma KHAWATMI, Prof. Jason ANG, and Prof. TAN Shee Tiong, for their guidance and support through the semester. We would also like to thank François DECOSTER for guiding us during the preliminary three-week workshop with his expertise and experience. We are grateful to Prof. Oscar CARRACEDO GARCÍA-VILLALBA for his assistance, both in studio and during crits, through the semester. We would also like to acknowledge the feedback given by various members of faculty and professionals during the crits throughout the semester. Lastly, we would like to thank our family and friends for their continued support through the semester. Team: Anjanaa Devi SINTHALAPADI SRIKANTH, Antonio PEREZ RAGGIO, Navya Durga THATIPARTHI, JANG Seonghoon.

Urban Ecopuncture

CONTENT PAGE Abstract

Ackowledgment

Content Page

01 Eco-Network

1.1 1.2

Kallang study area Proposal: Eco-Network 15

02 Ecopuncture to reimagine HDBs 2.1 2.2

Intervention area Proposal: Urban Ecopuncture and design strategies

03 Ecopuncture to reimagine ‘Live-Work-Play’ 3.1 3.2

Site Proposal: Urban Ecopuncture and design strategies

04 Site intervention: edge conditions and typologies 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5

Vertical and dense innovative business spine Open-block coworking community Low-rise biophilic community Integrated waterfront edge Creative hub

05 Conclusion: Relevance for 2050

Bibliography

Appendix

Urban Ecopuncture

ECO-NETWORK 8

Urban Ecopuncture

1.1

Urban Ecopuncture

ECO-NETWORK: SPATIAL ANALYSIS

Kallang study area

COMMUNITY NODES Existing schools and community centres have the potential to serve as nodes that activate the

Introduction

green network.

The study perimeter covers the zones Kallang, Geylang, and Toa Payoh. It encompasses a significant part of the Kallang River and Basin, and connects the Central Business District to Paya Lebar.

PARK CONNECTORS Existing disconnected network

The Pan-Island Expressway (PIE), Kallang Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and

of park connectors.

Central expressway are the major road infrastructure that pass through the site. The MRT lines that pass the site are the Circle Line, Downtown Line, East West Line and North East Line. Kallang zone primarily comprises residential areas

PUBLIC OPEN SPACE

and light-industry areas. Geylang zone consists of a heritage and commercial

Existing open spaces in the

zone, industrial zones and residential zones. Toa Payoh zone is largely a

perimeter area.

residential zone.

Issues and potential

INFRASTRUCTURE BARRIER

The existing infrastructure - the expressways and the Kallang River - create distinct urban borders, forming enclaves that are monofunctional. Certain

The Pan-Island Expressway and

public spaces are underutilised due to the enclaved system and the minimised

the Kallang River separate global

accessibility it creates.

and local movement, despite multiple ‘gates’ into the site.

In 2050, there is a need for an integrated system that makes equitable access to spaces and amenities a priority. The potential recognised in the site is the

EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE

existing pockets of green spaces within residential zones along Kallang River.

Mobility

infrastructure

over

road and MRT.

URBAN SUPERZONED Disconnected, mono-functional superzoned planning requires users to travel longer journeys, resulting in increased energy consumed.

Urban Ecopuncture

1.2

Proposal: Eco-Network

The proposal involves providing a feasible connection between the existing

CONCEPT PLAN

green spaces and introducing community functions and amenities to activate them. Treating the active green spaces as ‘nodes’, connected by a ‘linear network’, creates an ‘eco-network’ in place. A concept toolbox is proposed to introduce functions in the green spaces: community farming, water transit-oriented development, SOHO, playscape, and art exhibit space. Designing an eco-network allows people to access such public amenities in and around the existing green spaces, thus making them community cores.

POINT TOOLBOX

COMMUNITY FARMING

WALKING AND CYCLING

PLAYGROUND

Ecopuncture Points Neighbourhood WATER TOD

WATER PLANT

Eco-Network

SOHO

Urban Ecopuncture

ECOPUNCTURE TO REIMAGINE HDBS 14

Urban Ecopuncture

2.1

Intervention area

Introduction

The intervention area spans from subzones Woodleigh to Boon Keng, totalling

EXISTING MOBILITY

DECARBONATED CHAIN OF MOBILITY

an area of 3.38 sq km. The site is bound by the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and the Kallang River. The site comprises the MRT stations Woodleigh, Potong Pasir (North-East Line), Geylang Bahru (Downtown Line) and Kallang (East West Line). Being predominantly residential, the existing population in the intervention area is 55,495. The residences are of three types: landed properties, townhouses

BRT ROUTE

and HDBs.

EXISTING GREEN POCKETS Issues and potential

WT ROUTE

PROPOSED ECOPUNCTURES

Singapore has to deal with its rapidly ageing population, and this must especially be considered in the intervention area. Being predominantly residential, the site has a unique set of problems since it needs to be sufficiently equipped with infrastructure, active open spaces and be economically viable for all ages. The existing infrastructure - the PIE and the Kallang river - act as barriers and limit

ACTIVE GREEN HUB

access to the neighbouring sites. Despite the availability of amenities - schools,

ECOPUNCTURE POINT

religious structures and park connectors - the existing infrastructure and amenities are insufficient for the ‘business-as-usual’ scenario in 2050.

EXISTING RESIDENTIAL ENCLAVES

HYBRID PROGRAMME: LIVE-WORK-PLAY

Amongst the existing residential plots, the HDB spaces - void decks and ‘lost space’ between the blocks - need to be better utilised for economic viability in 2050. Using the existing green spaces in HDB plots along Kallang River to create an integrated blue-green network can potentially activate the leftover spaces and generate a green-collar economy. COWORKING SPACE INCUBATOR SPACE ECO HUB

Urban Ecopuncture

2.2

Urban Ecopuncture

GUIDE PLAN

Proposal: Urban Ecopuncture and design strategies

BRT ROUTE LIVE-WORK-PLAY HUB RESIDENTIAL

In this scale, an ecopuncture signifies waterfront green spaces within HDBs

ENCLAVE

as ‘points’. By activating them as ‘nodes’ along a linear grid of water canals,

DENSIFIED HDB

community farming green spaces and park connectors, the HDB ground-floor spaces are enlivened. Introducing community farming generates a green-collar

COWORKING SPACE

economy that is inclusive of the elderly. Design strategies are proposed to induce ‘hybridity’ to the site:

ECO HUB

ECOPUNCTURE

Urban Design Strategies

POINT

Decarbonated chain of Mobility: A car-lite strategy with a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) loop and renewable-energypowered water transport (for passengers, goods and logistics). Ecological network: Designing a network of water canals and active green spaces (urban farming) within existing HDBs to create a green-collar economy, thus enabling ‘ageing in place’. Hybrid ecopuncture architecture: Densifying certain HDB blocks and proposing incubator hubs, SOHOs and Eco-hubs to improve ‘Live-Work-Play’ balance, encouraging all ages to live as a community.

Urban Ecopuncture

ECOPUNCTURE TO REIMAGINE ‘LIVEWORK-PLAY’ 20

Urban Ecopuncture

3.1

Site 8% of site area

61% of site area

PUBLIC SPACE

Introduction

The site is located by the Kallang River, opposite the Geylang Bahru MRT. With an area of 0.21 sq km, the site is fronted by the six-lane Kallang Bahru Road and is adjacent to the Pan- Island Expressway (PIE). It is composed of two private industrial sites, separated by Geylang Bahru Road, and hence does not have a residing population.

9% of site area

30% of site area

GREEN SPACE

The site currently has a built ratio of 43% and a plot ratio of 2.8. It comprises single-storey industrial warehouses, mid-rise height office buildings and singlestorey workshop spaces. Under the URA Master plan, the site is marked under residential land use and may be slated for future redevelopment. 3 primary functions

6 primary functions

PLOT ORGANISATION Issues and potential

As a private industrial site in a residential zone, the site lacks relevance or vitality required for 2050. With approximately half the perimeter being waterfront, the site has the potential to be designed as an attractive active publicly accessible space.

Avg 2.8

Avg 4.5

PLOT RATIO

43% of site area

48% of site area

BUILT FORM

typo 1 typo 3

typo 2

typo 5 Existing site

Proposed site

DESIGN INTERVENTION 22

typo 4

Urban Ecopuncture

3.2

Urban Ecopuncture

URBAN DESIGN STRATEGIES

Proposal: Urban Ecopuncture and design strategies

KALLANG BAHRU MRT STATION

In this scale, ‘points’ or nodes - designed within 5 minutes’ walking distance of every point on the site to be conveniently accessible to the aged - are designed as active public open spaces with amenities: eateries, childcare, healthcare,

KALLANG BAHRU MRT STATION

WT MRT CAR BRT CYCLE BRT STOP MRT STATION WT HUB SILO PARKING

MRT CAR BUS CYCLE BUS STOP MRT STATION

exercising spaces. The spaces are integrated into a grid network that serves living, economic and recreational functions - a network of sustainable water

EXISTING MOBILITY

DECARBONATED CHAIN OF MOBILITY

transport canals. Design strategies are proposed to holistically redesign the site from a monofunctional, inaccessible site to a hybrid, publicly accessible site:

Urban Design Strategies

Decarbonated chain of Mobility: For a car-lite district, new decarbonated collective and shared system are developed:

GREENSCAPE FARMING ACTIVE GREEN POND POROSITY THROUGH SITE

GREENSCAPE POND

Urban boulevard: the development of planted urban boulevards along the business spine and the main pedestrian connector. BRT: A Bus-Rapid Transit loop is designed across the sites to promote decarbonated efficient passenger transport. Water transport system: Taking advantage of the long waterfront, an

EXISTING GREENAGE

INTEGRATED ECOLOGICAL NETWORK

integrated blue network supports passenger transport and small-scale logistics. Shared mobility and parking (silo) integrated to all buildings: multifunctioning silos for parking lots, cycle sharing, e-scooter parking, etc. Ecological network: A hierarchy of green spaces - public waterfront park, smaller public spaces and private urban farming spaces - connected by the water canal, create dynamic

PRIVATE INDUSTRY LIGHT IND OFFICE/CIVIC PRIVATE GREEN

OFFICE/ COMM RES ART HUB WATERFRONT PARK

spaces on varying levels. The green-blue network improves the micro-climate, is used for district-cooling technology, and increases the site’s flood resilience. A hierarchy of public spaces is designed on various levels — linked open spaces at G level and the linear canal front at G-1 level.

MONOFUNCTIONAL PROGRAMME

HYBRID SPATIAL ORGANISATION

Urban Ecopuncture

OFFICE

ECOPUNCTURE SYSTEM 2

FACILITY 3

EVENT SPACE

COMMUNITY 1

Art complex plaza

Points: open spaces - with facilities at 5-min walk

SOHO

COMMERCIAL

SERVICED APTS

0 1.2km

SECTION AA’: LIVE-WORK-PLAY ENVIRONMENT 2

Hawker centre square

Active canal front

Lines: sustainable water transit network

MASTER PLAN: ECOPUNCTURE TO REIMAGINE LIVE-WORK-PLAY

SECTION BB’: ALONG THE DYNAMIC PEDESTRIAN SPINE

EVENT SPACE

Public space Facilities Multimodal stations

0 30m

30m

OFFICE

FACILITY

B’

SOHO

PUBLIC SPACE

A’

COMMERCIAL

0 1.2km

30m

Urban Ecopuncture

SITE INTERVENTION: EDGE CONDITIONS AND TYPOLOGIES 28

Urban Ecopuncture

4.1

Vertical and dense innovative business spine

The typology fronts the site along Kallang Bahru Road and provides new edge conditions directly connected to public space and street. With a high density - the plot ratio of the neighbourhood is 6 - that maximises the profitability of the space, the productive and active ground floor provides new economic dynamics to the site.

Residential Commercial Community space Office Facility

The main commercial spine is consciously designed off the exterior road and along the canal within the site. The active commercial ground floor overlooks the basement-level canalfront street, which sees commercial, docking, and recreational activities. The plots also have privately owned public spaces (POPS) such as a hawker centre and a plaza which is connected directly across the site to the waterfront spaces by a dynamic pedestrian spine. The tower-and-podium typology has a programme of commerce, offices and residences. The tall rooftops tap into solar power by means of panels, thus relying partially on a clean energy source. With serviced apartments accommodating mixed economy proposed on site and the site’s proximity to the Downtown Line MRT station Geylang Bahru. The mixed programme accommodates an economy - with R&D labs, vocational training centres, and offices - that can be tapped into by different ages.

ROA U R H A GB

KALLA

PEDESTRIAN SPINE

a population of 650, the neighbourhood serves business tourism, owing to the

TWORK

BLUE N

30m

Urban Ecopuncture

4.2

Open-block coworking community

The smaller neighbourhood, designed adjacent to the business spine, is also integrated with the canal network - the canal and canalfront streets run across the plot. Its introverted orientation encloses the ground-level open space, creating an intimate smaller space that overlooks the canal.

Residential Commercial Community space Office Facility

The enclosed space is designed as a community green space. The active ground-floor built spaces - eateries, commerces and clinics - invite people to enter the neighbourhood, and enliven the space. With mid-rise heights, the rooftops of the blocks are utilised efficiently as publicly accessible playscapes and community gathering spaces. Stormwater retention technology enables the reuse of collected water for domestic purposes, thus increasing the degree of self-sufficiency of the neighbourhood. With a mixed programme of SOHOs, coworking spaces, and healthcare facilities, the open block design accommodates a population of 1700. Designed with a high density - the typology has a plot ratio of 8.1 - the varying heights and the open block design offer respite. The intimacy of the inner open space

and its proximity to varied facilities makes it a significant node that attracts all age groups. The various functions in the neighbourhood and the hierarchical open spaces are synergic for Live-Work-Play interactions.

30m

Urban Ecopuncture

4.3

Low-rise biophilic community

The primarily residential community is organised along the new canal providing new ecology and liveability conditions. With a plot ratio of 4.5, the ten-storey building typology creates a comfortable scale of open spaces that front waterscape. This canal integrates transportation, movement and open green spaces along its front.

Residential Commercial Community space Office Facility

The programme includes coliving spaces and community facilities in a towerand-block design, accommodating a population of 1600. The built form offers juxtaposed canalfront spaces by staggering the alignment of the towers and blocks. The mid-rise typology is designed with green roofs and stormwater retention technology. Active green spaces atop the blocks also form biophilic playscapes, community farming spaces and sports turfs. The organisation of the buildings and the new subsidised residential typology - coliving spaces - enable Live-Work-Play at a community scale. While young parents go to work, the elderly care for the kids, enhancing community bonding as well as a government-backed subsidy system. The system can improve the economic viability of mixed-use transit-oriented neighbourhoods for the elderly.

30m

Urban Ecopuncture

4.4

Integrated waterfront edge

The transformation of the existing concrete waterfront edge into a more natural landscape provides new conditions for on-site depollution and flooding

Residential Commercial Community space Office Facility

adaptability and resilience. A public waterfront park is designed with proximity to the neighbourhood, improving its microclimate. To maximise visual porosity, the structures are elevated off the ground and built on stilts to form open ground volumes. The architecture integrates residential and commercial programme in the lowdensity neighbourhood, which has a plot ratio of 2.7. Serviced apartments are designed along the waterfront park to cater to the site’s business tourism and maximise the lucrativeness of the waterfront plots. The neighbourhood accommodates a population of 2250. Community spaces accommodate playspaces for kids, basketball courts, futsal fields, and resting spaces, making a vibrant waterfront greenscape. With spaces for community-scale urban farming, the neighbourhood encourages hybrid uses of both public and private spaces. The waterfront park also supports an active nightlife recreation.

30m

Urban Ecopuncture

4.5

Creative hub

Certain existing warehouse structures on site are converted into exhibition spaces, studios, workshops and high-end restaurant, making an art complex. The adaptive reuse of the structures retains the scale of current spaces and vistas, and minimises demolition waste. The naturalised canal front leads the viewer through various spaces in the art complex on the redesigned interweaving park connector. The art complex is the destination of the pedestrian spine across the site, and integrates various activities along the canalfront - cycling, pedestrian paths, community farming spaces, children’s playgrounds, art plaza and exhibit spaces, and landscape. The plot ratio of the typology is 0.7. The low-rise scale creates friendly volumes that invites the public for art, recreation and commerce.

The proposed design accommodates a residential population of 6,170. With a maximum plot ratio of 8.1 in the coworking neighbourhood, a minimum plot ratio of 0.7 in the creative hub, the height matrix lends a distinct skyline to the site as the scale descends from a high vertical density to a street-scale waterfront space.

Residential Commercial Community space Office Facility

30m

Urban Ecopuncture

CONCLUSION: RELEVANCE FOR 2050 40

Urban Ecopuncture

How is the proposal relevant today, and more importantly, for 2050? Cities of the future, due to their size, are increasingly polycentric, and there is a need for self-sustenance within these centres. This includes the demand for an economically viable and comfortable lifestyle for all ages, especially the elderly. The proposal allows for a symbiotic communal living, thus creating self-sustaining ‘urban villages’. The holistic integration of an ecological network into the site creates a new ‘module’ of neighbourhood that can be incorporated into urban waterfront contexts in the future. With degrees of hybridity in the vertical programme, the use of open spaces and the types of green spaces, the site offers a conducive Live-Work-Play environment to users of all ages.

Urban Ecopuncture

URBAN ECOPUNCTURE REIMAGINING ‘LIVE-WORK-PLAY’ FOR KALLANG IN 2050 An “urban ecopuncture” — working as a point-line-surface system — is the concept of sustainable urban transformation strategies developed in specific nodes or ‘meridian points’, which stimulate a larger network or ‘lines’, to reactivate the entire urban system or ‘surface’: small-scale urban interventions to transform the larger urban context through ecological, social, and economic strategies in order to reactivate ecosystems. In 2050, Kallang is envisioned to be a significant urban core in Singapore, which faces imminent global issues, like climate change, and local issues, like an ageing population. Coupled with the inevitable impacts of climate change, like freak natural disasters and distress migration, this demographic shift causes a strain on Singapore’s resources. In this context, there is a need for hybrid living. How do we envision a ‘hybrid’ city? ‘Hybrid living in 2050’ implies not simply a mixed programme, but also sustainable living for all ages and a synergy with the environment. The focus of our project is designing a ‘Live-Work-Play’ environment that enables a viable and comfortable lifestyle for everyone, especially the elderly. This objective is achieved through the concept of ‘urban ecopuncture’, which signifies varying interventions according to the scale of the site: the study area, the intervention area within the study area, and the site within the intervention area. The urban transformation of the site proceeds through the proposal of different neighbourhoods and design strategies that provide a new identity to the site: a ‘hybrid’ site.